Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms
Construction professional services (CPS) rely heavily on knowledge workers as their main resources in delivering their services. One of the main concerns in managing these workers is the development and maintenance of organisational commitment. Smaller firms, with more informal human resource manage...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Proceeding Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/8740/1/Final_paper_affah.pdf |
| _version_ | 1796875663692529664 |
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| author | Mohyin, Nur Affah Dainty, A. R. J. Carrillo, P. M. |
| author_facet | Mohyin, Nur Affah Dainty, A. R. J. Carrillo, P. M. |
| author_sort | Mohyin, Nur Affah |
| collection | IIUM |
| description | Construction professional services (CPS) rely heavily on knowledge workers as their main resources in delivering their services. One of the main concerns in managing these workers is the development and maintenance of organisational commitment. Smaller firms, with more informal human resource management systems and practices are more likely to face challenges in managing their knowledge workers’ commitment. Arguably, the intrinsic characteristics of the construction industry mean that this effort of managing knowledge workers’ commitment will require an appropriate management framework for its successful implementation. This research seeks to develop a framework for informing the management of knowledge workers in a way that fosters organisational commitment in small CPS firms. Interviews with the employers of small CPS firms were conducted to explore some of the important issues such as the strategies and challenges associated with effectively managing knowledge workers’ organisational commitment. The findings reveal that employers associate commitment with loyalty and high quality work. Many strategies are used to influence commitment such as performance-based compensation, close working relationship, training, employee involvement in decision making and two-way communication. Meanwhile, the provision of job security and career advancement were seen as the biggest challenges in managing knowledge workers’ commitment. Finally, we conclude with limitations and implications of the findings that provide directions for future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-05T22:41:58Z |
| format | Proceeding Paper |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:8740 |
| institution | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-05T22:41:58Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:87402015-08-24T07:40:09Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/8740/ Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms Mohyin, Nur Affah Dainty, A. R. J. Carrillo, P. M. TH Building construction Construction professional services (CPS) rely heavily on knowledge workers as their main resources in delivering their services. One of the main concerns in managing these workers is the development and maintenance of organisational commitment. Smaller firms, with more informal human resource management systems and practices are more likely to face challenges in managing their knowledge workers’ commitment. Arguably, the intrinsic characteristics of the construction industry mean that this effort of managing knowledge workers’ commitment will require an appropriate management framework for its successful implementation. This research seeks to develop a framework for informing the management of knowledge workers in a way that fosters organisational commitment in small CPS firms. Interviews with the employers of small CPS firms were conducted to explore some of the important issues such as the strategies and challenges associated with effectively managing knowledge workers’ organisational commitment. The findings reveal that employers associate commitment with loyalty and high quality work. Many strategies are used to influence commitment such as performance-based compensation, close working relationship, training, employee involvement in decision making and two-way communication. Meanwhile, the provision of job security and career advancement were seen as the biggest challenges in managing knowledge workers’ commitment. Finally, we conclude with limitations and implications of the findings that provide directions for future research. 2009-09-07 Proceeding Paper PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/8740/1/Final_paper_affah.pdf Mohyin, Nur Affah and Dainty, A. R. J. and Carrillo, P. M. (2009) Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms. In: 25th Annual Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) Conference, 7-9 September 2009, Nottingham, UK. http://www.arcom.ac.uk/publications/procs/ar2009-0125-0134_Mohyin_Dainty_and_Carrillo.pdf |
| spellingShingle | TH Building construction Mohyin, Nur Affah Dainty, A. R. J. Carrillo, P. M. Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title | Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title_full | Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title_fullStr | Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title_short | Managing knowledge workers' commitment in small construction professional firms |
| title_sort | managing knowledge workers commitment in small construction professional firms |
| topic | TH Building construction |
| url | http://irep.iium.edu.my/8740/1/Final_paper_affah.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mohyinnuraffah managingknowledgeworkerscommitmentinsmallconstructionprofessionalfirms AT daintyarj managingknowledgeworkerscommitmentinsmallconstructionprofessionalfirms AT carrillopm managingknowledgeworkerscommitmentinsmallconstructionprofessionalfirms |